Toy glider

ABSTRACT

A toy glider made from a light weight material having a substantially flat wing of generally triangular shape, a body which tapers toward the apex, and a landing gear made from a spring wire which is generally U-shaped with the legs fixedly attached to the base of the wing and the bight of the U detachably latched to the apex of the wing so that the legs are normally bowed away from the body. The bight of spring wire is released from the body when the glider lands so that the legs support the body in a generally upstanding position.

United States Patent [191 Petrusek TOY GLIDER Victor Petrusek, 14611 Halsted St., Harvey, 11]. 60426 22 Filed: June18, 1973 211 App]. No.: 371,035

[76] Inventor:

Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant ExaminerRobert F. Cutting Attorney, Agent, or FirmSabin C. Bronson [57] ABSTRACT A toy glider made from a light weight material having a substantially flat wing of generally triangular shape, a body which tapers toward the apex, and a landing gear made from a spring wire which is generally U- shaped with the legs fixedly attached to the base of the wing and the bight of the U detachably latched to the apex of the wing so that the legs are normally bowed away from the body. The bight of spring wire is released from the body when the glider lands so that the legs support the body in a generally upstanding positron.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures llllll TOY GLIDER BACKGROUND SUMMARY DRAWINGS The present invention relates to toy gliders and more particularly to a toy glider which upon landing lifts to an upright position.

Toy gliders made from light-weight materials are well known and generally include a fuselage and a wing attached thereto. Generally the wings of these prior gliders are fixedly secured to the body so that the glider re mains flat when it lands. Thus when the glider is flown any considerable distance, it may be difficult to identify. This may be disadvantageous particularly if the toy glider is being used in a context in which distance is a factor.

By the present invention there is provided a glider structure having means for positioning the wing in a generally upright position so that the identity may readily be made. The positioning of the wing into an upright position also makes it possible to render the toy useful in various types of games involving landing skill or to achieve different effects.

The glider of the present invention comprises a generally isoceles triangular wing of which the apex forms the nose. A fuselage projects from the underside and extends substantially normal to the base and provides a hand grip for launching the glider into flight. A landing gear in the form ofa U-shaped wire having the legs fixedly secured adjacent to the base and the bight is releasably secured adjacent the nose. The U-shaped wire landing gear is attached so that upon landing the bight is detached from the nose of the glider and the spring wire is operative to turn the wing into a generally upright position.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy glider embodying the structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the glider.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the glider and showing in phantom lines the glider in an upstanding position after landing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBQDIMENT and may be of uniform thickness and is preferabily either an isoceles or equilateral triangle. The sides of the triangle need not be straight and may be suitably contoured to simulate different objects. For example, as

shown the apex 14 which forms the nose of the glider is contoured to simulate a hat on a clowns face which may be imposed on the upper surface thereof. The sides 16-16 of the wing 11 may be curved to create the desired effect. Similarly the base 17 may be contoured or cut away to provide a pair of legs or shore 18-18 at the corners on which the glider is adapted to restwhen it lands.

The fuselage 12 extends along the altitude of the triangle and may be of substantially the same thickness as the wing 11. As shown, the fuselage 12 is generally triangular and projects normal to the plane of the wing 11. The bottom edges of the fuselage taper toward the apex or nose l4.

A hook member 19 which may be integral with the fuselage 12 or separate therefrom, as shown, is located adjacent the nose 14. The hook member 19 includes an edge 20 which is inclined downwardly and away from the nose 14. A slot 21 inclined in the opposite direction is formed in the edge for receiving the landing gear releasably latched therein, as more fully to be explained hereinafter.

In the embodiment shown, the hook member 19 is made from balsawood and includes a fastening strip 22 which is embedded within a slot 21 in the wing 11 at the nose 14. A hook body 23 is secured to the edge 20 of the fastening strip 22 and projects outwardly therefrom.

The landing gear 13 is made from spring wire which is generally U-shaped to provide a pair of legs 24-24 and a bight 26. A coil spring 27 is formed on each of the legs 24-24 spaced inwardly from the free ends thereof.

The landing gear 13 is mounted on the wing ll with the fuselage l2 bisecting the space between the legs 24-24 and with the bight 26 located adjacent the hook member 19. The outboard ends of the legs 24-24 are suitably embedded or otherwise fixedly secured to the wing I] so as to maintain the coils 27-27 seated in recesses 28-28 formed in the wing. The bight portion 26 may be provided with suitable guides 29-29 to maintain the legs 24-24 spaced generally equidistant from the fuselage 12 when the bight is inserted in the slot 21 as shown in FIG. 2.

It is to be noted that when the bight 26 is inserted in the hook member 19, the legs 24-24 are bowed outwardly away from the underside of the wing and project beyond the bottom edge of the fuselage 12. Moreover, when a force is applied on the bowed legs in a direction toward the underside of the wing 11 the legs tend to straighten out so that the bight 26 is released from slot 21. When completely released from the slot, the spring coils 27-27 are operative to force the bight 26 away from the fuselage l2 and wing 13.

In use the toy glider 10 is launched with the bight 26 in engagement within the slot 21 in the hook member 19. Launching is accomplished by gripping the fuselage 12 between the thumb and fingers and then tossing overhand to place the glider in flight. When the glider lands the force of the landing is exerted on the bowed legs 24-24 of the landing gear 13. This landing force is adequate to release the bight 26 from the slot 21 so that the spring coils 27-27 are operative to lift the wing toa generally upright position. Thus any indicia or other design which may be provided on the upper face of the wing 11 is visible. This design may have solely an aesthetic appearance, pleasing to a child, or it may be other identifying indicia which is used to determine ownership in a contest or game of any kind in which the glider may be used.

I claim: 7

1. A toy glider comprising a generally triangular wing having a base and an apex opposite said base defining the nose of said glider, a landing gear made from a spring wire of generally U-shaped configuration having spaced legs and a bight, said legs adjacent the free ends thereof being fixedly secured to said wings adjacent said base, latching means on said wing adjacent said nose for releasably latching said bight so as to maintain said legs in a bowed condition during flight of said glider and being operative upon landing of said glider to release said bight whereupon said wing is positioned in a generally upright position relative to the surface on which the glider is landed.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said legs is formed with coils adjacent said fixed ends.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said surface opposite to the surface on which said landing gear is mounted is provided with design indicia.

4 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises a member having a downwardly opening slot inclined rearwardly from said nose.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a fuselage projects along the longitudinal center of said wing.

glider is made from balsawood. 

1. A toy glider comprising a generally triangular wing having a base and an apex opposite said base defining the nose of said glider, a landing gear made from a spring wire of generally Ushaped configuration having spaced legs and a bight, said legs adjacent the free ends thereof being fixedly secured to said wings adjacent said base, latching means on said wing adjacent said nose for releasably latching said bight so as to maintain said legs in a bowed condition during flight of said glider and being operative upon landing of said glider to release said bight whereupon said wing is positioned in a generally upright position relative to the surface on which the glider is landed.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said legs is formed with coils adjacEnt said fixed ends.
 3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said surface opposite to the surface on which said landing gear is mounted is provided with design indicia.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises a member having a downwardly opening slot inclined rearwardly from said nose.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a fuselage projects along the longitudinal center of said wing.
 6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said wing is of isoceles triangular shape.
 7. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said glider is made from a foam polystyrene plastic.
 8. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said glider is made from balsawood. 